The Ultimate Hitchcock DVD & Blu-Ray Thread

[Guest 68414]

Originally Posted by tips4tnt

BBC4 are also showing the excellent 2 part 1999 "Reputations" documentary. Unfortunately the Radio Times doesn't make it obvious that it's a 2 parter (it looks more like it's a single programme that's being repeated the following night). Also, it looks like they've snipped out about 15 minutes of the original 2 hour programme. (more info here)

Thanks for pointing this out, I assumed it was just the one programme repeated.

Will set the recorder now!

Anyone else catch the Merton doco last night? I recorded it and watched the first 15 minutes when I got home, looks like a decent effort.

Loved Merton's comments about Ivor Novello playing a 15 year old and Hitchcock's probable reaction to his "young" co-stars!

[Guest 65240]

Has anyone done a thorough comparison of the recent broadcasts of the Reputations documentaries with the original transmissions?

Casually examining the two versions of Part 1, I was very surprised to find that - although the new version was 10 minutes shorter - it includes material missing from the original, i.e. a discussion of the casting of Rebecca including screen tests. There may well be other instances.

With enough patience and editing skills, I suppose it would be possible to compile a super-long version that has never been shown!

[Guest 65490]

Originally Posted by Jonathan

Has anyone done a thorough comparison of the recent broadcasts of the Reputations documentaries with the original transmissions?

Casually examining the two versions of Part 1, I was very surprised to find that - although the new version was 10 minutes shorter - it includes material missing from the original, i.e. a discussion of the casting of Rebecca including screen tests. There may well be other instances.

With enough patience and editing skills, I suppose it would be possible to compile a super-long version that has never been shown!

I still have the original transmissions but sadly missed the repeats,nice to know there was material added to the documentary though,I wonder if it will be repeated again ?

[Guest 18933]

There doesn't seem to be any plans to repeat it. If I get chance, I'm hoping to try and compare the repeat with the original broadcast this weekend.

[Guest 65490]

Originally Posted by tips4tnt

There doesn't seem to be any plans to repeat it. If I get chance, I'm hoping to try and compare the repeat with the original broadcast this weekend.

Shame no repeats,let us know your finds when you do compare both.

[Livius]

Saw this on Roobarbs, Early Hitchcock Collection @ 9.99

[Guest 18933]

That's a great bargain! The set uses the same transfers that were used in the French Studio Canal "Les Premières Oeuvres" sets from 2005. Just about the only thing missing from both sets was the silent version of "Blackmail".

[Guest 18933]

Just spotted that "North by Northwest" is showing at the Pictureville Cinema (National Media Museum) in Bradford on Wed March 25th

[Guest 65490]

That Hitchcock set is a bargain,works out at £1 a film.

[Guest 56823]

Aaargh !

Just got home to watch the second part of the Merton doc and my Sky box switched itself off.

Anybody know if it's getting a repeat ?

[Mike Mither]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Aaargh !

Just got home to watch the second part of the Merton doc and my Sky box switched itself off.

Anybody know if it's getting a repeat ?

Was this a two-parter? I thought it was just a one-off that's been repeated a few times - if not, I've missed it too

[Guest 56823]

Originally Posted by Mike Mither

Was this a two-parter? I thought it was just a one-off that's been repeated a few times

Oh, maybe it was.

Can anybody confirm this ?

[Guest 56823]

...on a tenuously related Hitchcock note, last night I watched The Designated Victim, an unofficial Italian remake of Strangers on a Train from 1971 which closely adheres to Patricia Highsmith's plot while restoring the sexual ambiguity of its characters.

Superficially this resembles a giallo movie of the era, relocating the action to Milan and a wintry Venice (reminiscent of Don't Look Now), with a lush score by Luis Enriquez Bacalov. But there is little violence or stalking and there are no baroque set pieces held together by an thin narrative. This is tightly plotted, thoroughly gripping, psychologically complex and very well acted by Thomas Milian and Pierre Clémenti, while still retaining the dreamlike quality of the better gialli. It makes a interesting companion piece to the Hitchcock classic and is in some ways even superior to the earlier film.

[Guest 65490]

Originally Posted by tips4tnt

If I get chance, I'm hoping to try and compare the repeat with the original broadcast this weekend.

Have you had a chance to compare both ? and did you find out anything interesting from it ?

[Step away from the console]

Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock is a 1 hour documentary which was broadcast 5 times on BBC Four. It is available to view (or download?) in the UK through BBC iPlayer for 2 more days.

It covered the films made in Britain in chronological order. I wish a brief mention could have been made of the films which were skipped over. I consider The Farmer's Wife one of his best silent films. It is marvellous to hear from the mostly elderly people who worked with Hitchcock. Paul Merton did a great job.

I saw the tail end of Reputations: Hitch: Alfred the Great and all of Reputations: Hitch: Alfred the Auteur for the first time. I'd love to see this BBC documentary in its entirety.

[Guest 56823]

Originally Posted by Step away from the console

Paul Merton Looks at Alfred Hitchcock is a 1 hour documentary which was broadcast 5 times on BBC Four. It is available to view (or download?) in the UK through BBC iPlayer for 2 more days.

It covered the films made in Britain in chronological order. I wish a brief mention could have been made of the films which were skipped over. I consider The Farmer's Wife one of his best silent films. It is marvellous to hear from the mostly elderly people who worked with Hitchcock. Paul Merton did a great job.

I saw the tail end of Reputations: Hitch: Alfred the Great and all of Reputations: Hitch: Alfred the Auteur for the first time. I'd love to see this BBC documentary in its entirety.

Thanks for clearing that up. Somehow I was convinced there were two episodes.

[Guest 18933]

I managed to compare the first 50 minutes of the original part 1 with the 2009 version. SV is correct -- the 2009 version adds footage of various actresses doing test shots for the role of the 2nd Mrs de Winter and includes extra interview footage with Marcella Rabwin (Selznick's secretary).

The other major change is in the section regarding "Rope". The original broadcast used footage from the film, whereas the 2009 version uses still photographs.

The other segments that have been removed from the 2009 version seem to have been done purely to bring the running time down to 50 minutes rather than for film footage rights (as footage from those films appears elsewhere in the 2009 version).

1) ~100 seconds removed: John Russell Taylor, Alexander Walker and Hume Cronyn talking about Hitchcock's childhood and his mother Emma (inc. footage from Notorious)

2) ~50 seconds removed: Alexander Walker talking about the "police cell" story (inc. footage from Blackmail)

3) ~35 seconds removed: Drew Casper talking about Russian montage theory (inc. footage from Sabotage)

4) ~200 seconds removed: Linden Travers, Roy Ward Baker, Ronald Neame and Hugh Stewart talking about Hitchcock's directing style

5) the stock footage of Hollywood is different

6) section about Rebecca (with John Russell Taylor, Drew Casper and David Thompson) replaced with Marcella Rabwin and Rebecca test footage

7) Rope section reedited to use still photographs instead of film footage

[Guest 53019]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

...on a tenuously related Hitchcock note, last night I watched The Designated Victim, an unofficial Italian remake of Strangers on a Train from 1971 which closely adheres to Patricia Highsmith's plot while restoring the sexual ambiguity of its characters.

Superficially this resembles a giallo movie of the era, relocating the action to Milan and a wintry Venice (reminiscent of Don't Look Now), with a lush score by Luis Enriquez Bacalov. But there is little violence or stalking and there are no baroque set pieces held together by an thin narrative. This is tightly plotted, thoroughly gripping, psychologically complex and very well acted by Thomas Milian and Pierre Clémenti, while still retaining the dreamlike quality of the better gialli. It makes a interesting companion piece to the Hitchcock classic and is in some ways even superior to the earlier film.

How did you watch it? I can find no information on a DVD.

[Guest 61709]

"The Designated Victim" is available in a fan-edit (leigitimate disc, though) from Shameless Screen Entertainment, a UK setup.

I love their lurid covers!

[Guest 56823]

Originally Posted by haineshisway

How did you watch it? I can find no information on a DVD.

I rented the DVD from Lovefilm. It's the Shameless DVD JWF refers to. Looks good too apart from a few brief restaurations of scenes which were cut.